Heaven's Gates
by Mercurial Phoenix
Summary: Tomoyo's life has been turned upside down with the discovery of a shocking secret. Now she's running from her clouded past, toward a future that shines with uncertainty and hope, and there's only one person who can help her. HIATUS DUE TO WRITERS BLOCK
1. Secrets Told

Heaven's Gates

Chapter One—Secrets Told

Disclaimer: Eenie, meenie, minie, mo. Oh. Would you look at that. I own CCS— mobbed by lawyers _Would you let me finish!_ I own CCS, _the manga and anime_. Not the copyright or the characters. (Which is a damn shame, cuz Touya be yum…) This disclaimer applies to THE WHOLE FRICKIN FANFIC, SO I WON'T BE REPEATING IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I'M NOT NELLY OR TIM MCGRAW, ALL RIGHT?

"What in the world are you thinking!"

"Precisely," Tomoyo murmured. "Precisely, exactly that."

This comment was ignored. It was early Sunday afternoon. She was sitting in the wooden rocker on her porch, watching, idly amused, as Sakura paced worriedly in front of her.

"Calm down, dear heart," Tomoyo began, but Sakura whirled around, eyes blazing emerald flames.

"Calm down? Calm _down?_ After you went and made these crazy plans without consulting Syaoran and me—"

Tomoyo's amusement vanished in a heartbeat; her voice and eyes went as cold as Sakura's were hot. Sakura, unused to such hostility directed toward her from anyone, especially her best friend, turned away. "Careful where you step in that regard, dearest," Tomoyo said coolly. "You and Syaoran-kun don't run my life."

"But we're a big part of it!" Sakura retorted, furiously spinning around to glare at her. "And something this reckless? Planning, packing, and giving us three days' notice, with barely a by-the-way'? I'd expect something like this out of Onii-chan, maybe—_maybe—_but _you?_ Tomoyo-chan—" Exhaling loudly in a sigh that could have blown away a building, she sat down beside her friend on the rocker. She tried a reasonable tone, quietly pleading.

"Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran and I are very concerned. Otou-san's concerned. Onii-chan and Yukito-san are concerned. Kero-chan is nearly out of his mind wondering if you've been possessed by some strange magic, and Yue-san is almost agreeing that something's wrong—"

"Kero-chan and Yue-san? You've consulted them?" Surprise and exasperation layered Tomoyo's voice. Sakura shrugged.

"Kero-chan, anyway. Yukito-san says Yue-san expressed a mild interest in your departure, and felt that perhaps its abrupt nature merited closer inspection.'" She smiled weakly. "And that was saying a lot, for Yue-san." She leaned closer to Tomoyo. "I have to ask, Tomoyo-chan, if you have any idea what you're doing."

Tomoyo studied her best friend for a moment. In the fourteen years that had passed since Kinomoto Sakura had been named Cardcaptor, Mistress of the Clow, and finally her current position as Mistress of the Sakura Cards, she'd grown quite well into her status as "magical girl." She was tall, willowy, beautiful—even more beautiful than her mother had been, claimed Daidouji Sonomi and Kinomoto Fujitaka—and had gained a shrewd, clever, quick-witted intelligence that did nothing to detract from her innate innocence. She was Tomoeda's pride and joy—not to mention the entire universe to one Li Syaoran; they were practically engaged, though they seemed happily oblivious to that fact even now. At age twenty-three, they were perfectly content to wait for at least a little while longer for each other.

This was certainly not the case at the moment; right now, this Cardmistress wanted an answer.

Tomoyo considered, then beamed. "Not a clue," she admitted cheerfully.

On a frustrated half-sigh, half-growl (Syaoran-kun's influence, Tomoyo mused), Sakura rolled her eyes. "Then what in the _world_ are you—" She seemed to finally realize what she was saying; she stopped, then glowered, her eyes daring Tomoyo to answer.

Her own eyes full of laughter, Tomoyo wisely opted to remain silent. 'The world,' she knew, was precisely, exactly the point.

Four days ago, she'd opened a long-dormant (and quite amassed) savings account, pre-booked a couple of plane tickets, packed her bags, and announced her plans to her friends and family the next day: she was taking a very, very long vacation on a trip around the world.

She hadn't explained why she was leaving, because she didn't understand yet.

She hadn't explained when she'd be home, since she didn't know.

She hadn't explained where she was going, for she wasn't sure.

She only knew she was going, and she was counting down the days. And when her friends had tried to talk her out of it, she hadn't backed down, and didn't plan to. When her mother had tried to reason with her, Tomoyo had leveled her one look, and Daidouji Sonomi had been the one to back down.

Which led to Sakura's visit. Tomoyo knew her best friend was trying her hardest to change Tomoyo's mind, and that the consistent failure was frustrating Sakura to no end. Doubling that frustration was the fact that Tomoyo was leaving tomorrow, and no one even knew why.

Except Sonomi. She alone was the only other person who knew why—the terrible secret that was precipitating Tomoyo's escape. For escape it was—escape from the glaring, shattering, horrible, _horrible_ truth Sonomi had told Tomoyo just four days ago.

_She sat, frozen in the red-velvet armchair, staring at her mother, who was weeping quietly into her hands. Gone were Daidouji Sonomi's cool, concentrated aloofness, her smooth, polished veneer. In her place was this shaking, sobbing…stranger._

_Tomoyo reflected dully on all the warning signs she should have noticed-where had her amazing observatory skills been then? Why hadn't she_ seen—_the absence of a father all her life…Sonomi's constant protectiveness of her daughter…the bodyguards everywhere she went…Tomoyo closed her eyes briefly._ It makes…a twisted sort of sense…

_And now, faced with this…chilling truth, Tomoyo opened her eyes and looked at her mother-and sighed._

_She stood, crossed to Sonomi, who was whispering, "I'm sorry, darling, I'm so sorry," over and over. Tomoyo bent over and pressed her lips to Sonomi's hair. "I love you," she said gently, and added firmly,_ "Okaa-san."

Sonomi only nodded, sniffling, and Tomoyo repressed the urge to sigh again. She was tired…so tired…

She straightened walked to the front door, pausing only to repeat, "I love you, Okaa-san. Goodnight." She left.

_Neither of them would admit yet—though both knew—that Tomoyo's_ _goodnight' really meant goodbye.'_

And now, four days later, she was so very ready to escape. Even though she knew it was deeply confusing and hurting her precious Sakura.

_But maybe…maybe if I—if I could just…_

"Sakura-chan_,"_ she said suddenly, stopping Sakura in the middle of a rant.

"Hoe?" The green eyes blinked, losing some of their fire. Some.

"I—" Tomoyo let out a carefully controlled breath. "I love you."

Those enchanting eyes blinked again. "Hoe…? Well, I love you too, and that's why I really think it's a bad idea…"

As Sakura went off again, Tomoyo closed her eyes wearily. She'd tried; but in her heart she knew her darling, her beautiful, her wonderful, her beloved Sakura would never understand the sincere devotion in those three simple words.

She opened her eyes to see tears in Sakura's. "Oh—oh, darling, don't!" Hastily Tomoyo reached out to wipe the tears away, fighting back panic. If Sakura asked her to stay now—with tears in her eyes instead of flames—Tomoyo knew she'd give in. Knew she'd never be able to resist, to deny her friend's request.

"Tomoyo-chan…" murmured Sakura pleadingly, and Tomoyo squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself for a fool.

"Go."

She opened them again. "What?" Sakura was gazing at her, anxiety and exhaustion in her face.

"Go wherever it is you need to go. Far away. Somewhere you can find your own happiness, because you can't keep living off other people's." Sakura stood and turned away. "So create your own—I want that for you. Goodbye." She walked down the porch steps without a backward glance.

Tomoyo reached out beseechingly, then let her hand fall to her lap. At this moment, for the first time in her life, her Sakura stood feet away…and was miles beyond her reach.

"Goodbye, dear one," she whispered as her world walked away.


	2. Destinations Reached

Heaven's Gates

Chapter Two: Destinations Reached

"Ticket, please…"

_What am I doing?_

"Thank you, ma'am. Enjoy your flight…"

_Where do I think I'm going?_

"Let's see…coach, seat 14-A. This way, please, ma'am…"

_Why can't I understand anything about myself...my life...anymore?_

"Can I get you a drink, miss? Miss? Excuse me, ma'am?"

With a jolt, Tomoyo was wrenched out of her thoughts. She realized that the plane was already in the air, and the pretty flight attendant was staring down at her with concern. What had she been saying?

"Ah, yes, a drink would be fine, thank you. Ice water, please." She watched the attendant smile nervously at her...had she really been so lost in thought?...before turning to prepare the drink on the metal cart. When she took the drink, Tomoyo said apologetically, "Forgive me, miss, I didn't mean to ignore you, I was simply…preoccupied."

The girl smiled at her again, more at ease. "Oh, don't worry, ma'am. Many people get nervous about flying." She continued up the aisle.

Absently, Tomoyo sipped at her water. Nervous about flying? No, she'd always loved to fly...especially when Sakura let her ride the magic staff…She sighed, turning away deliberately from that train of thought.

She was planning to land in Hong Kong, then transfer over on a flight to New Delhi in India before catching another plane to Jerusalem. From there she'd most likely head for Athens; she'd take a train to Transylvania, then rent a car to go along the Danube River. Afterwards, she'd want to go to Amsterdam; then she'd drive down and tour the wine country of France…perhaps visit Normandy? Maybe then she'd take a boat across the English Channel, stop in Canterbury, and walk the route of the Canterbury Tales before heading back to London. She'd think then about flying…elsewhere. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. It was going to be a very long flight.

"Oh, _Suuuuuuppi-chaaaaan,"_ came the Voice, and the small cat creature sat straight up in his master's lap, fur standing on end in dread. "Suppi-chan? Where _aaaaaaaaare_ you?" the Voice called in a playful, sing-song delight that only the most malevolently despicable minds can manage.

"Oh, please no," Spinel muttered in English. "Isn't he supposed to be at school?"

"Early release today," Eriol murmured back, suppressing a smile. "And I'm afraid they're having a three-day weekend, my poor friend."

Spinel moaned in horror. "These schools in England are really sadistic...unleashing monsters like _that..."_ He glared in the direction of the Voice calling his name. "...on the poor, unsuspecting masses."

Eriol chuckled. "Makes for an interesting holiday, don't you think?"

The cat sighed in resigned defeat. "Sure. How _interesting_," he answered dryly as Nakuru burst through the door.

"Suppi-chan! Time to play!" he cried as he swooped down on the cat. He carted off the whimpering animal, joyfully singing, "Playtime—with Suppi-chan! So much fun! Let's—go—find—dum-dee-doo…a _water gun_!"

Eriol laughed again as his cat cried out, "Nooo, you beast! Master Eriol, help me!" Then he turned and looked out the window. It was nearing six o' clock.

_She dozes on the plane._

He smiled faintly out into the sunset. It would only be a few weeks now.

_She plans a tour of Europe as she rests._

So like her, to multi-task…She'd probably only spend a few days in each location before moving on to the next. She'd be restless, he knew, fixing in his mind the vision of the woman sleeping in the plane. Restless, and frightened. Of herself? Her past? Or the truth? Perhaps all three.

_She dreams of shadows and faces…sometimes both are one._

He sighed. Just weeks until she arrived here, in his home. His territory. What would she do then? Would she continue to run? The sigh became a smirk. She'd try…but he'd catch up to her. And then…

And then, Eriol decided as his cat's tormented yowls escalated dramatically and he turned away from the window to go referee his creations' "playtime" activity, they'd see what would be.

_Two weeks and four days later, at Heathrow International_

Tomoyo sighed as she leaned against the post of the terminal waiting area. She felt so tired…so damn tired right now. She _knew_ she should have just taken the boat across the Channel in the first place.

But no, she'd finally decided. It would be quicker and better to take a plane from France into England. And here she was, after four hours of delays and an hour-and-a-half long flight with absolutely zero sleep at all in the past twenty-nine hours, still trying to convince herself she'd make the rational decision.

Like hell she had.

She had a migraine building up behind her eyes, a very empty stomach, and no pocket change in British currency to make a phone call to a taxi company to make her trip to a hotel.

And a very, very short temper.

She sighed and turned. It was nearly noon, she thought blearily. Trying not to visualize lunch, she headed for the luggage terminal so she could pick up her bags.

Blinking, she stared into the beaming face of Eriol Hiiragizawa.

"Why, hello, there," he greeted her, as if they'd planned beforehand to meet at the airport. "And how are you doing this lovely morning, Daidouji-san?" The use of her last name...as he'd expected...made her flinch. He knew she'd been using an alias these past two weeks. _Fear of a name only increases fear of a thing itself,_ he mused, mentally applauding J. K. Rowling. Was Tomoyo so afraid of herself she'd avoid any reference to her name? Apparently so.

"It's not morning, it's nearly noon," she managed, before she caught herself. "I—I mean, hello, Hiiragizawa-kun. It's been…quite some time, hasn't it?"

"Fourteen years," he agreed. "And you've grown into quite the lovely lady during that period, haven't you?"

God in Heaven, she was gorgeous, he thought, blatantly admiring the sight before him. She stood nearly five-feet-nine, with legs that went on forever, clad only in a short blue skirt that matched her stylishly cut white blouse. Her long hair had grown with her height, and remained just past her waist. Her violet eyes were fringed by thick, dark lashes. That small, perfect pink mouth was currently pursed in confusion.

"Perhaps," Tomoyo replied, evading the question neatly. "And how have you been, Hiiragizawa-kun?"

"Well enough, I believe," he replied gamely, aware of her evasion. "So, Daidouji-san, how do you find England?"

"With a map," she retorted, her exhausted brain still trying to process this irrefutable fact: Hiiragizawa Eriol was here. Then she bit her lip, conscious of how rude she must sound. But he was still smiling.

"Indeed. How ingenious of you."

Despite herself, Tomoyo giggled. Eriol marveled inwardly at the beauty of such a young, childish sound escaping such an obviously _adult_ woman.

"Hiiragizawa-kun, may I ask what you're doing here?"

His eyes seemed to…_twinkle_ at her. "Certainly. May I ask that you call me Eriol, as I have every intention of calling you Tomoyo?"

"What?" She blinked, confused.

"Hmm?" He was smirking now, the arrogant, pompous...Tomoyo forced a smile. _This is not helping my headache._ Fine. He wanted to play mind games? She'd just refuse to comply, and let him think he'd won.

"Very well. _Eriol-san_, what business do you have here in England?"

"A bookstore, a candy shop, an ice cream parlor, and quite a sum in stocks and bonds."

The reply was so blithe, so deliberately careless; therefore, it was all the more bewildering. "I...beg your pardon?"

"Of course, it's not just business I have here," he told her, enjoying the puzzled purple of her eyes. "It's home as well. All work and no play, you know."

"Home? I...oh. _Oh._" Of course; she'd forgotten. Eriol lived here in England. In London. But that didn't explain what he was doing in Heathrow in the middle of the day. She summoned another smile, cursing the aching tension behind her eyes. _Too much cerebral activity,_ she decided wearily. Time to make an escape.

"Well, Hiiragi...ah, Eriol-san, you're probably headed off on a trip," she said brightly, trying not to simply slink past him with her tail between her legs. "And you're probably too busy to stand around chatting. I'm sorry; I'm on vacation, you see, and I have to go get my luggage, which they've probably discarded by now. I don't mean to take up too much of your...your time…" It took her a moment to realize that _he_ had her luggage, one large suitcase in each hand.

"No, and no, I'm not," Eriol told her, grinning maddeningly. "And yes, I know, and no, you don't, and no, they haven't, and no, you're not." He hefted each suitcase...both half his size...easily. "But you may be wasting yours. It depends on how long you plan to stay here in London." He began to walk, and Tomoyo, dumbstruck, automatically moved to keep up. "You'll probably want to call a cab," he went on, "but I've brought my car, so it would be cheaper and more logical, which I'm sure you'd appreciate, to use mine, of course."

"Of...of course." When had he gotten so...commandeering? Had he always been this way? She couldn't quite recall…

"Good." When had she gotten so...malleable? She'd never been like this before. He remembered that no one could ever push Daidouji Tomoyo around. Somehow, the fact that he could bully—_maneuver_ her into his own plans without so much as a squeak of protest was…disturbing.

"You can also forego having to search for a hotel," he informed her, keeping a careless smile on his face. "My house is large enough, with plenty of guest rooms. I've taken the liberty of preparing one for your arrival."

"Ah...okay…" Tomoyo shook her head slowly, like a swimmer shaking off water droplets. "I…I hope I'm not intruding…that is, Hiira...Eriol-san, please don't feel obligated to…to look after me simply because of our past friendship."

Ah…here it was, the barest minimum of objection. Still disturbing. "Don't fret so, Tomoyo-san. I don't feel obligated in the least, but I'm hoping that our friendship isn't merely in the past. I do wish to continue it in the present, as well, if you've the inclination." He aimed a winning smile at her. The dazzling brilliance of it seemed to make her head ache worse.

"Yes, yes, all right," she murmured, wishing dearly with all her heart to simply close her eyes and be horizontal for, oh, say the next century or so. "Of course we will. Ah, Eriol-san…" She abandoned a bit of her hard-fought dignity, though not enough to beg for an aspirin. Or a gun. Whichever would put her out of her misery quicker. "I must place a phone call to Sakura-chan, to—"

"That can wait," Eriol said gently. "Rest first. Here..." They had reached the parking lot somehow without her realizing it. "My car is this way. Tomoyo-san…" He noted that she was walking with her eyes half-lidded. "Are you feeling all right?"

The glare of the garage light off the cars was making her head spin. "I...yes, I...oh..." She stumbled as the world did a slow roll, and the colors blurred out momentarily. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and felt the ground tilt, sink...then fall away completely. Her eyes popped open, and she found herself scooped up bridal style in Eriol's arms.

"I...Eriol-san?"

"Fool," he muttered irritably, his playful good manners evaporating. "I'll bet you haven't eaten or slept in days. And you've a migraine the size of Europe to boot, haven't you?" He let out a sigh. "Somehow, I half-expected this. After what Sakura-chan told me, I had a feeling you'd push yourself past your limits, just to prove to yourself you could handle it."

"Sa…Sakura-chan?" And though her brain was still muzzy, still aching with the wrath of every demon in hell, it began to make sense. Eriol's apperance…his offer of assistance, of housing, even the damn car…She struggled against him, suddenly angry.

"Let go of...you planned this! You planned this with Sakura-chan, didn't you?"

"I did," he said simply, and began to walk, leaving her luggage behind."

"My suitcases..."

"Will be fine. Stop squirming."

Oh, how that commanding tone grated her nerves! And her struggles weren't impeding him in the least; he carted her like a sack of feathers. "How dare you manhandle me this way!"

"Pardon me, Tomoyo-san," he said calmly, "but I believe that I am treating quite a bit better than you have yourself."

That stunned her, momentarily. "I...you...Hiiragizawa, unhand me this instant." Her voice had gone cold, queen-to-peasant.

He ignored her as if he were a god. "I assume you'll want an explanation; however, it shall wait until we get on the road." So saying, he unceremoniously dropped her to her feet, opened the door of a red sports car, and all but shoved her in.

"You can't..."

"I can," he interrupted her, sudden anger blazing in his eyes. "And I have. Buckle your safety belt." He shut the door on her protest, and sent a simple mental command to the suitcases. He walked around to the driver's side, not bothering to check the trunk for them; he knew they were in there. He may have split his magic with Kinomoto-sensei, but simple transport spells were not beyond him.

Tomoyo was sulking—or rather, fuming silently—by the time he climbed into the driver's seat. She treated him with icy silence as they began to back out of the parking space and drive out of the airport garage.

"Stop sulking," said Eriol pleasantly after a few moments. Tomoyo threw him a glare.

"I am not sulking," she informed him grandly. "I am fuming silently."

"Sulking," he said with relish, apparently having forgotten his annoyance with her, "like a spoiled child who's been told she can't have any cake."

The comparison so enraged her that she debated striking that smug smirk right off his face. "You," she hissed instead, "are _despicable_."

He nodded as if seeing her point. "Which is why I came to pick you up and offered to let you stay in my home..."

"Offered! _Offered?_ You practically _ordered_ me to stay in your house!"

"I didn't hear any dissent then," he pointed out. She was forced to concede, which didn't help her mood at all.

"Oh, you just...just leave me alone!" she snapped, turning to stare out the window. "I had a headache then, and it's only worse now, thanks to your insufferable condescending attitude."

He glanced at her. "I know," he said softly. "And I'm sorry for it." She didn't answer, but by the slight tilt of her head in his direction, he knew she was listening. "Poor Tomoyo-san," he continued gently, lacing his voice with genuine sympathy. "How hard you've been running, from a shadow that's overtaking you step by step. Why should you have to fight to keep it back? You don't deserve this pain at all. Kind, sweet, patient Tomoyo-san."

His quiet words were evoking emotion in her that she wanted desperately to avoid...regret, resentment, defeat. _He's right. Why should I have to fight this shadow? I don't want to…not anymore…_ She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back tears. Quite a few silent minutes stretched between them as he navigated the London streets.

He knew she was battling the tears. And it made him hurt for her. "And the saddest part is, it hurts you more than you're willing to allow," he said, almost to himself. "Not more than you're willing to _admit,_ for you're far more sensible than that. But you won't allow yourself to cry, Tomoyo-san." He chuckled. "Kind of odd, isn't it? You're too sensible not to cry but too stubborn to let yourself. A hard place for you to be, isn't it?"

Despite herself, Tomoyo laughed. "You _are_ despicable, Eriol-san," she said. "Using your words against me to defuse my anger. Clever." And still she fought the tears.

And he knew. Keeping his eyes on the road, with his left hand he reached out and grabbed hers. "Tomoyo-san," he said gently, "do be sensible, won't you?"

And with that, with his quiet, understanding statement, Tomoyo felt the last of her defenses break. Gripping his hand like a lifeline, she wept until she thought her heart was empty. And when she finished weeping, she let her head fall back and slept.

Eriol didn't let go of her hand until he had pulled into his own driveway; even then, he sat in the car with her hand in his, and watched her sleep.


	3. Discoveries Made

Heaven's Gates

Chapter Three—Discoveries Made

"Eriol-sama-a-a-a-a, make Suppi-chan come down from the ceiling! He's in the chandelier again…"

"Please don't call me Eriol-sama."

"And don't call me Suppi-chan."

Brief pause.

"But Eriol-sama-a-a-a…"

At first, Tomoyo thought the Voice wailing piteously was part of the dream she'd been having, though in retrospect she couldn't recall what she was dreaming in the first place. Soon, however, she realized the Voice was filtering through the floor, muffled by the thick carpeting. After another moment, during which she groggily registered that she was in a creamy-yellow canopy bed in a room painted a soothing pastel green, she heard the other voices again.

"Master, please make that monster stop that abominable screeching."

"Very well. Ruby Moon, lower your voice."

"What?" There was indignation in the reply, spoken in English that Tomoyo had to concentrate to translate in her muzzy state. "I ask for your help, and you ignore me. _Suppi_ asks..."

"Don't call me Suppi."

"...and you practically leap to his defense. It's favoritism, you discriminating, prejudiced tyrant! Simple bias, I tell you!"

"Ruby Moon…" There was amused exasperation in the man's tone. "May I remind you that not only have you been irritating Spinel all morning, and have called me Eriol-sama' four times despite my repeated injunctions, but also, we have a guest in the house, whom you have probably awoken with your yelling."

There was another distinct pause as the Voice, which Tomoyo deduced to be Ruby Moon's, considered these points. Then, a bright squeal.

"Tomoyo's awake? I'll go get her!"

And before Eriol or Spinel could say another word, Tomoyo heard Ruby Moon noisily exit the room, clatter up the stairs, tear down the hallway, and throw open the door to Tomoyo's bedroom.

"GOOD MORNING, TOMOYO-CHAN!"

Tomoyo blinked twice at the entrance. "Ah…hello, Ruby M..." She stopped, her head rearing back. The magical creature had crossed the room in those two blinks of an eye, and had bent over the woman in the bed, so her nose was practically touching Tomoyo's.

"Sleep good?"

"Um…" Trying to process how Ruby Moon had apparently teleported across the spacious bedroom, Tomoyo smiled weakly. "Yes, I—"

"Feel better?"

"I...yes, that's—"

"Headache gone?"

"Oh…it's—"

"Hungry at all?"

"I'm—"

"Come on downstairs, we've got all sorts of good stuff to eat, and some stuff that's not so good to eat, but you don't have to eat those things if you don't want to, which I never do." Somehow Ruby Moon had dragged Tomoyo out of bed, handed her a blue flannel robe that was too big for her, and herded her out of the room, talking a million miles an hour as she practically steamrolled over anything Tomoyo said. She was now leading her down the hallway and toward a flight of stairs.

"Lessee…we've got waffles, pancakes, crepes, bagels, cereal, oatmeal...which is one of those not-so-good things to eat I wouldn't recommend to you unless you really like oatmeal...and I think muffins, yeah, we bought some last week so we should still have a couple, doughnuts...especially chocolate-covered, my favorite...toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, um, tea...Earl Grey, though, not green like they have in Japan...orange juice, apple juice, milk, and best of all, strawberry Pop Tarts!"

She suddenly paused, her hand gripping Tomoyo's wrist, halfway down the stairs, and just studied Tomoyo silently.

This scrutiny went on for nearly thirty seconds before Tomoyo began to feel vaguely embarrassed. "Um...Ruby Moon-san?"

"Well, gosh. You're pretty, aren't you?" Ruby Moon clucked her tongue, staring at the woman in front of her. "No…no, you were pretty as a kid. Now you're gorgeous."

Tomoyo's brain seemed frozen. She couldn't keep up with Ruby Moon, and was still caught somewhere back at the comment on chocolate-covered doughnuts. When she registered the magical creature's words, she pinked slightly.

"Oh. Um. Thank you, Ruby Moon-san. I appreciate your graciousness…"

Ruby Moon wrinkled her nose. "Ick. You make me sound so…old. No formalities between us, okay, Tomoyo-chan? Please?"

"I..." Seeing the plea in Ruby Moon's eyes, Tomoyo felt her heart sigh. "It's fine with me. What do I call you, then? Nakuru-san?"

Nakuru rolled her eyes. "Still formal, but better. Eriol just calls me Nakuru, or Ruby Moon. I don't see why you shouldn't. But if it makes you feel better…"

"Well..."

Nakuru smiled. "It's fine, Tomoyo-chan. We're friends, aren't we?"

And it was that simple. Tomoyo felt the answering smile bloom across her lips. "Yes, Nakuru-san. We're friends." And she reached out to take Nakuru's hand in hers. Nakuru grinned at her.

Eriol watched them from the bottom of the stairs. He felt his heart sigh querulously when Tomoyo smiled at Nakuru like that, like a child discovering she was getting an early birthday present. And when she joined hands with his creation, standing on his staircase, wearing his robe, looking so right, looking like she belonged here with him and his family…his heart stumbled.

He frowned slightly at himself, as Nakuru said something else to Tomoyo. _What am I doing?_ he wondered. He hadn't seen her since they were eleven, and they'd only been reunited—under protest on Tomoyo's part—for all of forty-odd hours. He _couldn't_ be falling in love with the best friend of his other self's daughter. That made Tomoyo practically his daughter…or, no, not actually. More like a cousin.

He heard her laughter drifting down the staircase. _Okay…a distant cousin._

Then she turned and saw him. Locked those dazzling amethyst eyes on his.

_Really, really distant cousin. By marriage._

"Oh! Eriol-san! Good morning." She seemed to remember her slightly bed-rumpled appearance, and blushed prettily.

_Four or five times removed. Hardly counts, really._

And she smiled at him.

And his heart tripped, and fell with a splat. He knew he'd never regain his balance.

He smiled back at her, slowly, considering…calculating.

"Good morning…Tomoyo-san."

_Uh-oh_, thought Nakuru, immediately tuning into the tone of her master's voice, the sly smile on his lips as he looked at the woman standing beside her. She went on full alert when she saw the soft, adoring sparkle in his eyes. _Double uh-oh._

"Did you sleep well?" Eriol was asking Tomoyo, who nodded.

"Yes. Thank you for…for being so hospitable. I very much appreciate it, Eriol-san." She was fighting the blush, Nakuru sensed, and trying not to fidget with the tie on the robe. Belatedly, Nakuru realized the robe was Eriol's, which probably accounted for part of the amusement in his eyes.

"My pleasure, Tomoyo-san. Believe me, it was my pleasure."

Nakuru narrowed her eyes at him. She recognized that listen-to-me-I'm-so-charming-and-gallant-and-incidentally-completely-innocent tone of voice.

Apparently, so did Tomoyo, for she frowned briefly, then smiled again. "Ah, please excuse my behavior of yesterday. I was tired, and very irascible, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you that way. And..." She remembered she'd cried in his car, and blushed again. "And thank you for putting up with my mood swings," she finished.

He positively beamed at her. "Absolutely. Anytime you need someone to take out your mood swings on, let me know."

She laughed, relieved. Somehow, everything was all right again.

"Oh, and just to let you know, it wasn't yesterday."

Tomoyo blinked. "What?"

"It was the day before yesterday. You slept all of yesterday, Tomoyo-san." He watched her process this, saw her eyes widen in shock.

"But...I can't...I wouldn't have..."

"You were, I believe, quite exhausted. I let you sleep and tried not to let Nakuru disturb you."

"Why is everything my fault?" Nakuru wondered aloud, and Eriol laughed at her. Tomoyo was still trying to deal with the fact that she'd slept an entire day.

"That must mean...that would mean I've..."

"Got to be starving," Nakuru finished for her, and proceeded to drag her the rest of the way down the stairs. "What do you want? We've got—"

"I believe you've already given her the list of breakfast foods we have to offer," Eriol interrupted, his eyes dancing.

Nakuru paused. "Oh yeah. So, Tomoyo, what'll it be?" She hauled Tomoyo into the dining room.

Eriol waited until they'd disappeared before heading for his study. He had a phone call to make.

"So she's awake, then?" Xaio-Lang exhaled loudly. "That's good. That's great. And she's okay?"

Eriol smiled in amusement at his cute little relative's concern for his friend. "You make it sound as if she's recovering from a heart attack, Xiao-Lang." They were speaking Cantonese, so as not to arouse Sakura-chan's suspicions. She was, Xaio-Lang had reported, in the kitchen nearby, and he was having to refer to Tomoyo as she' or her' so that Sakura wouldn't clue in and come running at the mention of Tomoyo's name. She'd been worried that Tomoyo hadn't yet made it to Eriol's house, and Xaio-Lang wanted to wait until Tomoyo had been there maybe a few days more before letting her talk to Sakura, so as to ease Tomoyo's wrath that her own vacation had been planned _for_ her.

"Shut up," grumbled the Li clan head. "Anyway, you're looking out for her, right? You're watching over her?"

Eriol paused, contemplating his discovery of his feelings for the woman they were discussing. "Yes," he replied casually. "I'm watching her."

There was a pause on Xiao-Lang's end, and then the Li hissed, "Damn it. Damn it all to hell. You bastard."

Eriol blinked. "What? What is it?"

"Don't play innocent. You stupid moron. Idiot. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Eriol was trying to figure out what he'd said to rouse Xaio-Lang's ire when Sakura-chan's voice drifted over the line.

"Syaoran? Is something wrong? Who are you talking to?"

Xaio-Lang hurriedly replied, in Japanese, "Ah, no one important, Sakura. Don't worry. Everything's okay." To Eriol, in Cantonese, he went on in a menacing growl, "I swear before all the gods and magics in this world, Hiiragizawa, if you lay a hand on her, I'm going to run you though with my sword. I don't care if you were Clow Reed or not, I'll kill you if you hurt Tomoyo."

"What? What?" Eriol was confused at the hostility in the Li's tone. "What are you talking about?" How had he figured out Eriol's feelings for Tomoyo so quickly? The clever, clever man…Damn him.

"I mean it, Hiiragizawa. You do anything to hurt her, I'll make you pay. She's too important to me and Sakura for me to let you mess around with her like you did with that teacher."

Eriol stiffened, and his voice went cold. "I don't intend to mess around' with Tomoyo at all, Xiao-Lang. And my relationship with Kaho is none of your business, though I'll assure you I'm not messing around' with Kaho, either. We are merely friends now." And she worked in his ice cream parlor, but he didn't think the Li would appreciate the information. His voice softened. "I'm not going to hurt her, Syaoran-kun," he said in Japanese. "I'll probably irritate her, annoy her, but never hurt her. I…love her." It still rocked him, but he refused to back down.

The simple admission left the Li sighing in frustration. "You'd damn well better not, Hiiragizawa," he said in Japanese tersely, and hung up.

Eriol wasn't sure if he'd been referring to hurting Tomoyo or loving her.

Syaoran stared at the phone, feeling more frustrated than he had in weeks. Since Tomoyo had left, actually. What business did the stupid Englishman have, falling in love with Tomoyo? He'd better be careful, Syaoran though darkly, scowling, or—

"Syaoran?"

He jolted and spun around to face Sakura. "Uh...yeah?"_ Lame, Li. Real lame_, he admonished himself, blushing red.

Sakura studied him quietly. "I don't speak Cantonese, but I heard the name Hiiragizawa a couple of times," she told him frankly. "And you said Tomoyo-chan's name once."

"I..." _Am an idiot. _"Uh, that was..."

"And I know the last time we spoke to her," Sakura went on, apparently oblivious to her boyfriend's fierce blush, "Tomoyo-chan was somewhere in northern Europe. Near England, where Eriol-kun lives."

"Ah…" _Damn. _"Um…"

"So I'm guessing Tomoyo-chan is staying with Eriol-kun now. And probably has been there for days, am I right?"

"Well…" What was the point, Syaoran thought wearily, when she would just guilt it out of him anyway later? "Yeah."

"I see. And why didn't you tell me?"

He tried for an ingratiating smile. "I wanted to give her time to settle in. Plus, you know, she's probably mad at you for making Hiiragizawa take her to his house. I don't want you two angry at each other over the stupid Englishman."

Sakura beamed at him, softened by his concern for her and her friend. He blew out a breath. "And there's a problem."

"Problem, Syaoran?"

"Yeah. Guess what? The bastard's in love with her."

Her eyes widened in surprise, then her lips curved in amusement. "Is he really? That's nice. Remind me not to tell Onii-chan. He's really protective of her, like you." She tilted her head. "I guess you threatened him?"

"Uh…yeah."

"I wish you hadn't hung up," she said wistfully. He blinked at her.

"Why?"

She grinned. "So I could have threatened him, too."

Syaoran paled, abruptly feeling very sorry for the Hiiragizawa bastard. Poor jerk. Once Sakura's brother and Tomoyo's mother found out, he'd catch it from all sides. And even though the thought of practicing his swordsmanship on Hiiragizawa made him feel pretty good, the unpleasant images that rose in his mind of what Sakura's brother and Tomoyo's mother would probably do to him were enough to make Syaoran pity the guy.

But he'd still better not hurt Tomoyo.

Eriol walked into the dining room and found it empty. Smirking to himself, he then walked toward the kitchen. Approaching the door, he heard the telltale shrieks and moans that signaled Ruby Moon tormenting Spinel Sun in the kitchen. But this time, he discovered, there was something more.

There was laughter. Tomoyo's laughter.

He pushed open the door...and backed up, trying not to breathe in flour. The air was choked with it, and Tomoyo, Nakuru, and Spinel were covered in it.

So was most of the kitchen.

He blinked as Tomoyo, doubled up with laughter, tried to dust herself off to no avail. Nakuru glowered at Spinel where he sat in a large mixing bowl, groaning in horror, and tossed another handful of flour at him.

"I can, too, make pancakes, Suppi."

"Don't call me Suppi."

"Let me...I should..." And Tomoyo dissolved into more laughter, clutching a chair for support.

They caught sight of Eriol, and froze.

He smiled broadly, stepping into the kitchen. "What's this? A snowball fight, and I wasn't invited?"

A slow smile spread across Nakuru's face, a grimace across Suppi's. As the flour began to fly, Eriol glanced at Tomoyo's bright smile, and felt more at home than he ever had in his life.


	4. Randomness Ensues

Heaven's Gates

Chapter Four: Randomness Ensues

The house stood dignified on the gently sloping hill, surrounded by high brick walls and friendly shrubs and trees. Inside the wall, gardens abounded, looking like something out of a fairy story. It was a veritable Utopia, an Eden, a Paradise. And in the midst of this perfection, a young woman sat with a serene smile on her face, with a scowling winged cat on her lap. Both were staring up into the boughs of an oak tree as if waiting for something to fall from its branches. All at once, a body tumbled from the tree, shrieking.

"Suppi-chan! Suppi-chan!" The figure scrambled up onto its knees, brandishing a round disc. "I've got the Frisbee! I've got it, Suppi-chan! See, Tomoyo-chan?" She waved the disc frantically toward the pair, looking extremely pleased with herself.

"Very good, Nakuru-san," approved Tomoyo with a nod, Spinel merely leveled a look at Nakuru and shook his head, his wings fluttering once idly.

"Don't call me Suppi-chan," he muttered in a long-suffering tone, laying his head down on his paws and shutting his eyes as though trying to erase Nakuru from his world.

Nakuru pouted. "Hey, Suppi, that's not fair. You said you'd play Frisbee with me if I found the Frisbee first. And I've got it, see?" She held out the Frisbee again, as if he hadn't seen it the first time for what it was.

"No. _You _said I'd play with you if you found the Frisbee. _I _said, though I recall you ignoring me as you normally do, that I am going to take a nap. And I am trying to do so."

Tomoyo stifled a giggle at Nakuru's indignant denial ("I do _not _ignore you I play with you all the time!") and gently deposited Spinel on the grass. He opened one eyes, disappointed at having lost his comfortable pillow, as Tomoyo started to walk forward.

"Here, Nakuru-san, I'll play with you."

Immediately Nakuru brightened. "Really? You will? Thanks, Tomoyo-chan!" Then doubt flickered over her face. She couldn't picture Tomoyo tossing a Frisbee around with Sakura-chan or cute Touya-kun or anybody. "Um…Tomoyo-chan, are you sure you know how to play?"

"Sure I do," replied Tomoyo easily. "It's not very hard, I'm good at this…"

And she tripped over a stone in the ground, stumbled forward a step, then landed in an ungraceful heap on the grass.

For an instant, the Utopia of Eriol's gardens was a frozen tableau of embarrassed surprise (Tomoyo), shocked astonishment (Nakuru), and mild pity (Spinel). Then Nakuru burst out laughing, even as she rushed forward. "Oh….oh, Tomoyo-chan, are you…are you hurt at all?" And instead of offering a hand to help up the woman blushing red as a rose, Nakuru plopped down on her knees and howled with mirth. "Oh, Tomoyo-chan, if you could have seen you _face_…Saying you good at Frisbee and then tripping over yourself like that. It was…" And she was off again, clutching the stomach in her gaiety as tears streamed from her eyes.

Tomoyo sat up gingerly, brushing grass off her sleeves. "I tripped over a _rock,_ not over _myself,_" she mumbled, mortified.

"Did you really?"

She froze at the voice behind her, and closed her eyes briefly. Oh no. Please don't let it be _him…_

She turned her head and looked up into Eriol's smiling face. There was a pause, broken only by Nakuru's giggles.

"Hello, Eriol-san," she said gravely after that moment's pause.

"Hello, Tomoyo-san," he said just as seriously, though his grin spoiled the effect. "Did you really?" he repeated. "Trip over a rock, I mean?"

"Hmm," replied Tomoyo evasively, picking a blade of grass off her skirt. "I seem to have accidentally stumbled over a stone, Eriol-san. A momentary lapse of grace, I believe." She folded her hands primly and looked up at him as though they were discussing someone else's clumsiness.

God, if he hadn't already adored her, he'd have fallen for her at that moment. There she sat on the ground, looking every inch the princess, blithely and innocently implying that her fall had been nothing more than a choreographed sequence and making him nearly believe it.

It was, he decided, the sexiest way he'd ever seen anyone say "I meant to do that."

"Indeed. A momentary lapse," he agreed, keeping his thoughts to himself. Nakuru heard the inflection in his voice again, and her laughter was cut off as she narrowed her eyes at him.

This time, Spinel, lying in the sun nearby, heard it too, and raised his head to look straight at his master. Then he studied Tomoyo, and exchanged a glance with Nakuru.

_Triple uh-oh._

Eriol held out a hand. "May I help you up, Tomoyo-san?"

Regally, she held out her own. "You may," she said grandly. When he pulled her to her feet and didn't let go, she looked into his eyes for a single moment. Blinked once breathlessly as his seemed to soften, warm…

And he burst out laughing.

"Oh, hush," Tomoyo told him irritably, yanking her hand away from his.

"I apologize, Tomoyo-san, but I simply can't conceive of _you,_ possibly the most elegant and majestic woman I've ever met, tripping over a rock." He grinned at her.

"Especially on your way to play Frisbee," added Nakuru, her eyes still on Eriol, who looked startled.

"You're playing Frisbee?" he asked, directing the question to Tomoyo.

"I am," she said to him, still trying to convince herself not to blush over his compliments. Eriol though she was elegant? Majestic? "Yes, I am," she repeated more firmly, her tone daring him to laugh again. He didn't, but instead studied her with an unfathomable look in his eyes. "What?" she said, a faint flush on her cheeks. Why did he have to _stare_ at her like that…like she was a bug under a microscope!

She was the most amazing thing, he decided. She was the very personification of dignity, of glamour, yet here she stood, grass stains on her skirt, her hair mussed, her cheeks flushed – because she'd been trying to play Frisbee with one of his creations. She was wonderful. She was remarkable. She was…indescribably magnificent.

"I was hoping," he said after a moment of gathering his emotions under control, "to take you along with me to my ice cream parlor. I have to check on something, and I have a surprise for you as well."

"A…surprise?" She sounded like she was trying not to be interested, and he made sure to keep the smile off his face.

"Oh yes," he assured her. "I have arranged a wonderful surprise for you, Tomoyo-san."

"_You _arranged…"

"Yes, and it's waiting at the ice cream parlor."

"At the ice cream parlor _you _own," she clarified, now sounding plainly bewildered.

"Yes. However, if you're playing Frisbee at the moment…" He decided to ignore the scrutinizing, almost disapproving looks from both Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun, as though he were a con artist out for her money. "…I'm sure it could wait till later."

She paused for a moment, thinking about it. It was all he could do not to simply scoop her up and cuddle her. She was just so damn cute, like a child deciding which birthday present she should open first.

"I _do _want to play Frisbee with Nakuru-san," she said slowly, tapping a finger on her chin. "But I wouldn't want your surprise to, ah, be kept waiting."

"It will keep well," he told her, completely delighted with her in general. "Please proceed with your game. I'll be back in about half an hour to bring you along."

She tilted her head to the side. "I thought you had to check on something; are you sure you should put it on hold simply for my sake?"

"It's no trouble. I'll just go kill some time," he assured her.

She smiled suddenly. "Well, if you need to kill time, I don't see why you shouldn't play Frisbee with Nakuru-san and me," she invited hesitantly. "Unless you have something else to attend to in the meanwhile…"

He blinked. "No. No, I'm not busy right now. That is—are you sure?" He couldn't for the life of him remember ever feeling so flustered by a woman's simple request to join her in a game. Then again, he'd never had a woman ask him to play Frisbee with her. Nakuru didn't quite count, seeing as he wasn't technically a woman _or _a man, though it was clear that he, Eriol, was more comfortable in referring to Nakuru as a male, while Tomoyo preferred thinking of Nakuru as female. He didn't see how it mattered one way or the other…

And why was he puzzling this out now? He had a beautiful woman waiting to play Frisbee with him. Though speaking of Ruby Moon…

"What do you say, Ruby Moon?" he said cajolingly, turning to his creation. "May I join you?"

Nakuru had been silent up to now, watching the exchange between her master and the woman he was so quickly becoming enchanted with. "Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Sure. Come on, then," she said after a second's deliberation. She exchanged another glance with Spinel, who looked completely and carefully blank. Shaking her head slightly, she turned and jogged past the mystified Tomoyo. She gave the woman a quick reassuring smile, then continued on to the other side of the garden, her smile fading when her back was to Eriol and Tomoyo.

_That relationship is definitely going somewhere, and fast, _she thought to Spinel. Telepathy between the two creatures was something they didn't practice often, but the cat lounging on the lawn didn't even give a jolt of surprise. _I don't see how it's a problem…but then, I didn't think the thing with the teacher would be a problem either._

_And it wasn't,_ Spinel thought in return, lying deceptively still on the grass, his eyes following Eriol as the man attempted to explain to Tomoyo exactly _how _to play Frisbee properly, ignoring her exasperated but not quite convincing assurances that she knew perfectly well how to play Frisbee. He could sense his master's strong emotions toward the woman, and Tomoyo's confused and hesitant reception of the attention he was paying her. _Mizuki-san and Master parted amicably, and even now retain a pleasant enough relationship._

_As employer and employee, _muttered Nakuru through the mental link.

_Even so, they suffer no 'problem,' _ Spinel replied patiently. _What could pose a problem is if Daidouji-san decides to return home, or even to simply leave London._

_She can't! _was the immediate reply, grim and low. Spinel was mildly surprised; it was often Ruby Moon panicked, but that was the emotion he was getting now. Ruby Moon was concerned – even frightened – that the Daidouji woman would try to leave their master before Eriol was ready to let her go. That, he mused, would _definitely _be a problem. He hadn't often seen Eriol truly furious, but he had a feeling that should this situation spin out of the magician's cautious control, then Eriol would attain a level of anger he hadn't previously reached.

_But we can't interfere, _Spinel reminded Ruby Moon solemnly. _Not if this is what Master Eriol truly wishes. We can only observe._

_Then we _will, _observe, damn it, _Nakuru thought fiercely. _We _will.

Spinel gave the feline equivalent of a shrug and settled down, his eyes shutting.

Nakuru scowled at him and his obvious unconcern for the matter at hand, very close to pouting. _So much for observing._ Then she smiled reluctantly when she say Tomoyo narrow her eyes at Eriol, who kept saying, "You just have to let your arm…flow."

"And what, pray tell, Eriol-san, do you mean by 'flow'?" Her very posture indicated he wasn't being very helpful.

"Flow, Tomoyo-san," Eriol repeated. "_Flow. _Like water, you know?" He grinned as she exhaled loudly, exasperated, and stamped her foot petulantly. "Water is that which flows," he intoned gravely, and Tomoyo laughed despite her aggravation, remembering her adventures with Sakura in China, back when they'd still been children searching for the released Clow Cards. She recalled Bird Street, Syaoran's nerve-wracking family, and the water mage who'd been in love with Clow Reed…

"Speaking of that Chinese water mage," she said aloud, letting her voice become innocent. Eriol immediately went on guard. Tomoyo smiled charmingly at him. "What did occur between you both?" she said, fluttering her lashes, deceptively sweet. "Or should I say, between Clow-san and her?" Her eyes laughed at him.

Eriol decided to play along. "Hmm…yes. As I – or should I say, as _Clow_ recalls_…_" He grinned at her. "She was quite an amazing woman, with a number of interesting…talents. Or so Clow's memories reveal," he added, hastily swallowing the grin when Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"Such a typical male thing to say," she chided him, and he shrugged.

"I—or should I say, Clow—will never forget her," he lamented, hanging his head for a moment as if in mourning. Tomoyo gave a polite little cough, as if to say: "Oh, you are so full of yourself." Eriol laughed and threw the Frisbee toward her. She ducked instinctively in alarm, making him laugh even more as it sailed in a graceful arc over her head.

Nakuru let the smile become a grin. _We _will _observe them, _she thought fondly. _We will observe Eriol and Tomoyo-chan falling deeply and madly in love, and we will observe them getting in silly arguments and making up. _She caught the gleam in her master's eyes as Tomoyo stalked over to pick up the Frisbee from where it had landed three yards from her feet. Nakuru also noticed exactly where Eriol's eyes were drawn as Tomoyo crouched down. _Um…okay. Maybe we'll let them make up in private. But we will observe them getting married and having lots of little Eriol and Tomoyo-chan babies us to play with, and we will observe them growing old together and being the happiest couple in the world…_

_Yay, _ commented Spinel listlessly. _Amen, praise the heavens, sound the trumpets, call the tabloids, have a party. And yes, they can most definitely make up in private after their arguments. Can I have a nap now?_

Nakuru laughed aloud, cut off the link, and waved her arms wildly. "Hey! Hello? Over here? Kind of want to play, too, in case you forgot!" She beamed as Tomoyo turned toward her with the Frisbee in hand and let it fly.

It flew, all right. Sideways, right between Eriol's eyes.

"Does it…does it hurt, Eriol-san?" Tomoyo asked again for the fifth time since they'd climbed into the car and began the drive across London to Eriol's ice cream parlor. Her intent was kind, her concern genuine – but he knew…oh, he just _knew_…that she and Ruby Moon, who was in the back seat, were trying desperately not to burst out laughing. Again. As they had, he recalled with a scowl, when he'd fallen backward onto the grass, glasses knocked askew, after the Frisbee had smacked into his head. Oh, yes, they'd laughed then as well. Tomoyo had been on her knees, clutching her stomach, breathless with giggles, and Nakuru had been doubled over too. Spinel, who had elected not to join them on this trip, had been the only one, Eriol remembered with a sudden surge of affection for his cat, to even ask if he'd been all right.

But, he thought, the scowl deepening, the cat had then commented that it was very uncharacteristic of the great Clow Reed's reincarnation to be clipped so neatly by a stray Frisbee, and perhaps Eriol had had something else occupying his mind to distract him so thoroughly. And then Spinel had gone right back to sleep.

Tomoyo and Nakuru, though, hadn't even bothered to check if he had a broken nose, or a concussion. Or at least a bruise. Which he didn't, but it was the principle of the matter.

"Eriol-san? I _am _sorry," Tomoyo said seriously, again for the fifth time, apparently finely having contained the urge to giggle at the situation. She squirmed in her seat at his continued silence. "Eriol-san?"

"Aw, don't worry about it, Tomoyo-chan." Nakuru threw her arms around Tomoyo's neck from the backseat. "He's not mad, he's just insulted at the blow to his masculine pride." She settled back as her master gave her a sufficiently threatening glare in the rearview mirror.

"Thank you, Ruby-Moon." Eriol didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Nakuru rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Eriol. It was an _accident. _And Spinel was right, if you hadn't been…ah…_distracted _in the first place, your reflexes would have prevented – "

"Yes, _thank _ you, Ruby Moon." The edge to his voice sharpened, and there was a surprisingly childlike crabbiness to it. Tomoyo bit her lip, but to her horror, a giggle escaped. Eriol glanced at her, scowling sullenly.

"I see my deflated ego amuses you. Again."

"No…no, it's just…" She sighed, trying not to laugh. "You look just like Touya-san and Syaoran-kun do whenever Sakura-chan won't let them fight with each other. Or like Kero-chan when Sakura-chan says no more sweets. You're…pouting/"

"I most certainly am not," Eriol protested immediately, maneuvering his way through traffic. "I have never in my life stooped to pouting. I merely…scowl sullenly."

Tomoyo swallowed a chuckled as Nakuru, lying down across the backseat, sat up slightly and let out a low, derisive "_Ha!" _of disagreement. "This conversation sounds all too familiar," she decided. "Didn't we go through this when you abducted me from the airport?"

"Fact: I did not abduct you, I escorted you gallantly to my home – " He ignored Nakuru's second, slightly louder _"HA!"_ " – providing you with the services of carrying your luggage for you and driving you in my own car." Eriol spotted a parking space in front of the parlor, and the car that was aiming hopefully for it. _No you don't,_ he thought grimly, and pressed the gas pedal, zooming possessively toward the spot. The other car pulled away, intimidated. "Fact," he continued, ignoring the fact that he'd just scared away a potential customer. "_You _were the one pouting."

"I was not," Tomoyo contradicted with an air of royalty. "You accused me of sulking. Which I was not, either. I was fuming silently. _You _are the one sulking, Eriol-san."

"No," he denied flatly, reminding her of a cranky little boy who didn't want to take his nap.

"Yes," she replied authoritatively, reminding him of a patiently superior mother deleing with a cranky little boy who didn't want to take his nap.

Nakuru made a rude sound from her slouch in the backseat. "You're both acting like a couple of spoiled brats," she informed them. "And reality check, Eriol, you _are _pouting."

Outnumbered, Eriol zipped into the parking spot and shut off the engine. "No," he said again, with what he considered admirable calm in the face of such betrayal by his own creation. He got out of the car. Tomoyo and Nakuru exchanged a knowing look – and a high five – before Eriol came around to their side to open their doors for them.

Tomoyo climbed out of the car, surprised at the level of courtesy Eriol was exhibiting even in the midst of what she knew was a severe pout. He was at the same time charmingly juvenile and dashingly mature – She felt her heart sigh once, and quickly redirected her attention to the ice cream parlor.

She stared in awe at the parlor. It looked so attractive, so inviting…so comfortable. She felt compelled to walk right in and spend every single pound she had…a fair amount, since Eriol had graciously exchanged British currency for her randomly acquired foreign currencies. She narrowed her eyes at the man.

"You don't have a spell on the place, do you?" she whispered disapprovingly.

"I've often heard it said by satisfied customers that this place seems to have a magical quality," he replied evasively, and strolled through the doors like he owned the place. Which, Tomoyo reflected, rolling her eyes, he did.

She and Nakuru had barely passed through the doorway behind him when Tomoyo heard a vaguely familiar voice call out in Japanese, not English, which surprised her, "Eriol-kun? What's wrong?"

"Why would anything be wrong, Kaho?" Eriol said frowning.

Behind the counter, Kaho Mizuki smiled at them. Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock, then delight. "Mizuki-sensei!" she exclaimed.

"Daidouji-san," Kaho replied cheerfully. "I see you're doing well. Eriol-kun said you'd come here to England."

"Yes, Eriol-san's been very kind to me, Mizuki-sensei." Tomoyo smiled at her former teacher.

Nakuru caught the way Kaho's eyes widened slightly at Tomoyo's use of Eriol's name. The other woman paused, then said, "That's wonderful, but you needn't refer to me as _sensei_ any longer. That title has long since been discontinued. I work here now. Please don't be so formal with me."

"That's what _I _said," muttered Nakuru, "but does little miss perfect manners listen? Nooo, perish the thought of actually acting _familiar_ towards someone!" Tomoyo smiled sweetly at Nakuru, then at Kaho.

"All right, Mizuki-sen…san. I'm glad you're doing well, then."

"And I'm glad to see _you_ looking so well too. But Eriol – what's wrong?" she asked again, her eyes moving to the man.

Eriol moved to a table and sat. "What do you mean?" he said curiously.

She smiled at him in puzzlement. "Well, you're…pouting about something."

Movement in the parlor froze for a second of time. Eriol's eyes narrowed.

Tomoyo couldn't help it. She tried not to, she really did. But Nakuru deliberately caught her eye, and they both burst out laughing.

"It was nice visiting with Mizuki-sen—ah, Mizuki-san," Tomoyo said later that evening.

"Hmm."

"She seems to be happy where she is now," she said after this none-too-encouraging reply. "It must be strange having her work for you."

"Hmm."

After another hesitation, Tomoyo pressed, "Thank you for the surprise, Eriol-san. I enjoyed the afternoon immensely." She wisely avoided any reference to the Frisbee fiasco.

"Hmm."

Nakuru finally couldn't take it anymore. She flicked a paper ball at Eriol from where she lay on the floor, apparently amusing herself by rolling several piles of paper balls, presumably to use as ammunition in the future on Spinel. "Oh, get over it already. So we laughed at you." _A lot. _"Big deal. It was funny."

"Hmm."

Both Tomoyo and Nakuru sighed. Spinel floated into the room and surveyed the scene. Tomoyo and Nakuru were sitting on the floor, lazily constructing a paper chain. His eyes narrowed at the large pile of paper balls beside Nakuru, frowning suspiciously at her innocently fluttering eyelashes. Eriol sat on the sofa, flipping idly through a book and sulking.

"Master Eriol, do stop pouting," Spinel said absently after a moment, his gaze lingering on Nakuru's all-too-bright smile. To his confusion, Nakuru and Tomoyo ducked their heads, trying to hide their grins, and busied themselves with the paper chain.

Eriol tossed down the book and stomped out of the room.

Spinel landed softly amid the laughter that ensued from the women…well, from the woman and Nakuru, he amended…as his master exited huffily to his study, slamming the door behind him. "What did I say?" he asked.

"The truth, Suppi-chan," Nakuru told him. "Just the truth." She added another link to the chain, another paper ball to her collection, and winked at Tomoyo as Spinel mumbled, "Don't call me Suppi," automatically.

Tomoyo sighed, feeling more at home here in this house, with a temperamental magician and his two temperamental creations as her housemates, than she ever had in her entire life.


	5. Chaos Escalates

Heaven's Gates

Disclaimer: Same as Chapter One

Author's Note: I know, it's been forever and a day. Sorry about the wait. :scratches back of head: Um, can't promise it won't happen again, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum. Also, HELP. I think I'm losing inspiration for this story. Can anyone help me out here?

Thank you to my lovely reviewers. I appreciate your support. For all you guys who read HG on Mediaminer…I have been unable to comprehend the immense complexity that is Mediaminer, and it's getting rather tedious. I'm thinking about pulling my fics off that site. (Then again, if I ever get too "mature" for eff-eff-dot-net, where will I go…? LOL) Anyways, thanks bunches!

Personal thank you to my brand-new beta, Araanaz. God, girl, I really love you! 'Course, now you'll have to put up with my crazy-ass stunts and lazy-ass excuses…_AND THUS, THE HELLION IS UNLEASHED_! BWAHAHAHAHA…Ahem. On with the show…

Chapter Five—Crisis Passed

"And so then the Reality is subversive—it begins to, for lack of a better phrase, unravel from the inside out. When all the structures that acted as the Pillars of Reason are undermined, there is no _support_, you see? And so, based solely on this illogic, there _is no structure_. The result would be the same as if you balanced a dictionary on upright sharpened pencils—knock over a Pillar and the Reality—the dictionary—crumbles. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"…Wait—go back to that 'flexing Realities' part."

Eriol blinked at Tomoyo for a moment, then sighed. "Tomoyo-san, that was about ten minutes ago."

Tomoyo simply beamed at him innocently.

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Eriol shook his head. "Why didn't you stop me _before_ I continued onto quantitative chaos ratios and subversive Realities?"

Tilting her head to one side, Tomoyo fluttered her eyelashes. "You looked so earnest and…_scholarly_ when you were preaching—"

"Lecturing," corrected Eriol with a wince.

"—on your magical theory…Why, I simply couldn't bear to stop you!" Tomoyo cooed, and ducked half-heartedly when Eriol threw a paper ball at her. She stared at the crumpled ball on her lap with bemusement.

"Where did you get this?"

"A leftover from that evening you and Nakuru started the Trans-Mansion Wars," Eriol said dryly. "You remember—when you each built an arsenal of paper balls and subsequently stampeded around the entire house throwing them at each other and yelling, 'Defense zone! No point!' and 'Loss of right leg from knee downward! Ten bonus points!' I could never figure out," he mused, "how your limbs managed to spontaneously regenerate, seeing as you lost your left foot twice, half your ribcage four times, and your head once. And Nakuru's bodily injuries were exponential."

"I have excellent aim," Tomoyo said proudly. Eriol studied her with half-lidded eyes and curved lips.

"Do you know," he said after a moment, "that of all the people I know, I would have believed it least likely that you would be the one to encourage Nakuru's tendency to generate domestic upheaval." He shook his head at her blank look. "It's rather amazing that you agreed to troop around the house like you were playing hide and seek."

She ducked her head sheepishly. "I suppose it _was _rather juvenile…"

"A word," Eriol announced fondly, "that Nakuru defines completely, part of speech and all. I thought it was cute," he added, and hid a smile when Tomoyo fidgeted slightly. "Plus, your war seems to have miraculously stimulated Nakuru's geographical and historical knowledge. When the sitting room was declared the Soviet Union, and Nakuru tried to get Spinel to be Stalin, I was quite impressed."

Tomoyo paused. "That reminds me," she muttered, "she cheated when she claimed the kitchen was the Neutrality Zone."

Eriol frowned. "I thought he said it was Switzerland."

"Same thing."

"Ah. That's right."

"Anyway," Tomoyo continued, "she kept saying that the kitchen was Switzerland, when I _distinctly _remember us agreeing that it was the garden and/or the upstairs bathroom. The kitchen was…Italy? Yes, because by that time, Spinel-san had moved to the light fixture over the sink and Nakuru-chan asked him to be Mussolini, too." She pursed her lips in concentration. "It was definitely not Switzerland, I know that much."

"The war is over, Tomoyo-san," Eriol laughed, marveling at how well the pout on her lips suited the gentle curve of her jaw line. "Why worry over territory and neutrality now?"

Tomoyo scowled. "I _lost_, that's why."

Eriol tried—he really _did_—but in the end the grin escaped. "It fits, then. You're Japanese, aren't you?" The paper ball struck him squarely on the nose as he chuckled.

"Ha. _Not._ Now, back to your flexing Reality spiel," Tomoyo reminded him with a glare.

With an exaggerated sigh, Eriol steepled his fingers and fixed her with his best professorial grimace, intoning gravely, "The concept of flexing Reality—"

"Why is it just a concept? Hasn't it been proven by the very _existence_ of abnormality—that is, magic itself?" Tomoyo pressed.

Eriol held up a finger. "Ah, but you're forgetting, Tomoyo-san, that there can be abnormality without what we term 'magic'. This is—"

"Natural abnormality, yes, I know, you told me, but you never _explained _it to me, Eriol-kun," she reminded him pointedly.

"Ah, well, I'm sorry. I forget that you haven't been schooled in these principles and premises as I have."

Tomoyo pretended to scowl. "Oh, all right. Just wave your rich and textured education in front of my poor, underprivileged nose."

It was only a moment, but when their eyes met, they both burst into peals of laughter.

"I would say," Eriol said seriously, "that my education is just as…colorful as it is textured."

Tomoyo smiled. "A collage of knowledge?"

Eriol grimaced at her. "And a poor attempt at being witty." Tomoyo stuck her tongue out at him good-naturedly. He went on, "Let's see, where was I? Oh, right. A 'natural abnormality' is a paradox, as you can tell. But even within its own definition, a natural abnormality is a spectrum in and of itself. Something that cannot be explained simply by observation without experimentation, inference without conference. It can be as simple as a rainbow, and as complex as the afterlife."

Tomoyo blinked. "The afterlife? You mean, ghosts and supernatural beings?"

"Supernatural does not necessarily mean spectral, Tomoyo-san. Supernatural can be lycanthropes, the fae, magicians—" He smiled at her. "Anything that is not _natural,_ Q.E.D. However, afterlife is, yes, anything that transcends death. Ghosts in particular, but extending to lingering energies or wandering souls."

"So a ghost isn't simply a soul that hasn't moved on?"

Eriol laughed. "No, of course not."

"Of course," mumbled Tomoyo.

"A ghost is a manifestation of life energy that attaches itself to a familiar area—thus, a 'haunting.' All souls move on, Tomoyo-san," Eriol said quietly, suddenly leaning forward to look at her with a blazing intensity. "It is important to realize this. No matter the being, no matter the crimes or the innocence—all souls ascend to another plane of existence once their source of life energy is extinguished."

She looked at him for a moment, then stared at her hands in her lap. "And…a ghost?"

Eriol was silent for another second, but sat back. "If the individual's life energy contains enough power—what is termed 'alien abnormality', or magic—then the energy takes a semi-corporeal form."

"So alien abnormality is…is what Sakura-chan, Li-kun, and you have."

"Yes. This alien abnormality follows no exacting and inflexible policies, no rules that are absolute. Magic _is,_ and that is the best explanation for it."

Tomoyo finally let her eyes meet his again. "I think I understand that part. Whereas natural abnormality can eventually be explained scientifically, magic has no earthly limitations, and so no logical justification for existence."

"Precisely," Eriol nodded approvingly. "You've witnessed this firsthand—Sakura-san's manipulation of the elements and physics with her Sakura Cards, Xiao Lang's use of ofuda to call upon his own elemental energies…"

"Your creation of Nakuru-chan and Spinel-san," Tomoyo added. "That's manipulation of nature, isn't it? The alteration—or in this case, removal entirely of the standard birthing process." She watched his expression. "You created them of the elements, of this alien abnormality, of yourself—and they manifest themselves according to all these things."

This time, surprise showed clearly upon Eriol's face. "Why—yes. Yes, you're correct." He stared at her, thoroughly taken aback and intrigued at her thinking process.

"There is something I don't understand," Tomoyo went on thoughtfully, to all purposes ignoring Eriol's renewed regard for her. "The existence of this alien abnormality—its effect upon the natural state of the world—"

"Ah yes…That is where flexing Realities comes into greater focus. With the physical manifestations of magic inhabiting this Reality—our daily lives, our surroundings, our thoughts, our emotions, our logic and irrationality, our humanity in other words—there are bound to be some ramifications on the Reality itself. Now, remember the dictionary-on-pencils I was talking about?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"Presumably, a gust of wind would easily alter the support of the dictionary, knocking over one of the pencils, right? Well, imagine a single flutter of a butterfly's wing, from over a foot away. What if that was to have the exact same effect?"

"Impossible," Tomoyo countered. "There wouldn't be enough force from the wing to generate the energy needed to collapse the dictionary."

Eriol grinned. "You would think. Such a small action couldn't possibly _be_ in the real world. The dictionary is too heavy for such a small thing to disturb its support, even as fragile and precarious as it is. But that is magic, Tomoyo-san—the brush of a butterfly's wing against Reality."

Tomoyo caught her breath. "That's rather…poetic, Eriol-kun."

"And so very true, Tomoyo-san."

She shook her head, faintly astounded. "Well, now that I've heard your rather Shakespearian view on all things alien and abnormal—" She grinned. "Can you _please_ explain flexing Realities?"

Eriol stared at her for a moment, then laughed lightly. "Of course. Back to our original topic…You really must stop distracting me so, Tomoyo-san." He pretended to scold her with a fierce glare.

"I? What on Earth have _I_ done?" Tomoyo fluttered her lashes at him.

_Actually, what I meant was, 'You look so devastatingly beautiful right now I'm finding it hard not to lean over and simply devour you, much less concentrate on the words coming out of my mouth.'_ Eriol tilted his head, suppressing a wince at the track his thoughts were taking.

"You talk far too much," he informed her grandly. Tomoyo pressed a hand to her heart and closed her eyes with a wounded expression, and he laughed again.

"Alas," she murmured. "What cold, cruel, harsh—"

"Truth," supplied Eriol, and made Tomoyo laugh along with him.

"You," she accused him, "are stalling."

"I?" He imitated her indignant tone.

"You. How am I supposed to know whether _you_ really know what you're talking about if all you do is make jokes and insult innocent ladies like myself?"

Eriol scoffed. "Innocent? I beg to differ. You, _my lady,_ are at the very least as devious and cunning as…well, myself," he admitted.

Tomoyo pretended to scowl. "Are you suggesting, _good sir,_ that my motives are less than pure? That somehow I am continuing this line of questioning, which has succeeded in confusing me beyond all human comprehension, simply for benefits which have less to do with knowledge than with ulterior incentive?"

Eriol eyed her owlishly. "Is _that_ how you managed to make Sakura-san allow you to dress her up and videotape her at any and every random moment for the past fifteen years? By rebutting all protest with the skill of a seasoned prosecuting attorney? Or by sounding like a thesaurus on a caffeine high?"

"Why, Eriol-kun, I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. Again."

"That's nothing new," remarked a dry voice. "We've all had to suffer that particular quandary sometimes." Spinel floated into view. "The door was open, and you didn't seem to be discussing academia," he offered by way of explanation.

"Good afternoon, Spinel-san," Tomoyo greeted the cat, who immediately settled himself in her lap.

"Hello, Spinel," added Eriol, torn between amusement at his cat's obvious growing fondness for their housemate and surprise that Spinel was showing such affection so blatantly.

The magical creature inclined his head solemnly. "Good afternoon to you as well, Tomoyo-kun, and you, Master."

After some serious debate and several minor, if rather humorous, food fights (during which, miraculously, Nakuru had been discouraged from stuffing Spinel from tail to nose with sugar), Tomoyo and the two magical creations had reached an agreement as to the honorifics they would use when addressing each other. Nakuru remained adamant on 'Suppi-chan' despite all protest from the concerned party. In retaliation, Spinel had lobbied hard to be allowed the right to call Nakuru 'idiot-boy'. Nakuru had shrieked denial that he was a boy ("Just because I'm _not a girl_ doesn't mean I'm automatically a _stupid boy—_SUP-PI-CHAN!") and thrown a tantrum until Eriol finally wandered into the study, claimed a chair for himself, and cheerfully announced his intent to shred every single sheet of Nakuru's custom-ordered Fruits Basket™ Zodiac Animals stationery if he didn't lower his voice by several hundred decibels. After the moon guardian had promised fervently to behave himself, Tomoyo and Spinel had civilly agreed to call each other 'Tomoyo-kun' and 'Spinel-san.' Tomoyo had at last given in to Nakuru's insistence and now referred to him as 'Nakuru-chan.' Spinel, for his part, had graciously conceded to calling Nakuru 'idiot' without specification of gender.

Nakuru, however, while expertly ignoring his counterpart's subtle mockery, was dissatisfied with 'Tomoyo-kun' ("It somehow…doesn't _sparkle_ the way it should…") and had deliberated almost painfully between 'Tomoyo-chan' and 'Tomo-chan.' When questioned as to her preference, Tomoyo had confessed that she didn't mind either way, and had subsequently resigned herself to responding to 'Tomo-chan' whenever Nakuru addressed her.

Eriol, for his part, wisely decided to stick with 'Tomoyo-san', though he did jokingly call her 'Tomoyo-dono' once or twice during the conversation. When Tomoyo had sweetly offered to give him a cross-shaped scar on his cheek to go with his newfound temperament, he had subsided without argument. :See author's note:

Tomoyo smiled softly to herself as she stroked back the fur along Spinel's spine. He let out a low-pitched rumble of approval that she thought might have been a purr of contentment.

"What were we talking about?" she murmured to Eriol.

He lifted a brow. "Flexing Realities."

"Ah, that's right." She smiled up at the ceiling for another moment, then cheerfully confessed, "I don't really care anymore."

Eriol let out a half-laugh. "I somehow had the feeling you were losing focus."

"I enjoy the existence of the magical and inexplicable without the technical reasoning behind it," Tomoyo retorted. "Rather like a child who believes when adults say the sky is blue 'just because', or that the tooth fairy will exchange teeth for money. The wonder of it is so much better that way."

"I agree," Eriol said softly. "Sometimes, the thing that I regret the most about my heritage from Clow Reed is…knowing everything."

Tomoyo couldn't help giggling. "That sounded so conceited and long-suffering at the same time."

"It's a talent of mine," Eriol said grandly. From his half-doze on Tomoyo's lap, Spinel gave a disbelieving snort.

"Facetious beast," Eriol accused him. Spinel snorted again and returned to sleep.

"The indignities I suffer," Eriol muttered, but resumed his explanation. "No, what I mean is that, like you say you enjoy the mystery of magic, I am deprived of those mysteries simply because I know how everything works. Like looking at a blender and knowing how to make a smoothie with a minimum of fuss and disaster."

Tomoyo paused. "Why do I get the feeling you're thinking of Nakuru-chan?"

"Because he, for example, despite his _ability_ to operate that hypothetical blender, is somehow bizarrely and consistently seized with the urge to ponder, 'What does _this_ button do?' and subsequently destroy the kitchen in his…academic experimentation."

Eriol's scowl and sullen explanation left Tomoyo almost bent double in her chair over Spinel's motionless form, her shoulders shaking.

"Past…experience?" Tomoyo gasped. Eriol rolled his eyes.

"Those who say history never repeats itself have never met Nakuru on a day when he's been seized with the craving for a strawberry-kiwi-banana-cherry smoothie," he told Tomoyo darkly.

While Tomoyo was busy stifling her laughter, Nakuru chose that moment to bound into the room. "Did I hear someone promise to make me a strawberry-kiwi-banana-cherry smoothie?" he trilled excitedly.

Tomoyo's eyes sparkled, Eriol's closed in resignation, and Spinel's narrowed in accusation upon his master. "Your fault this time," he said primly, before miraculously, to all appearances, going right back to sleep.

"_YAY!"_ Nakuru cheered. "Eriol-daioh's going to make me a smoothie!"

"Ruby Moon, what have I said about making assumptions? Or listening to other people's conversations? Or calling me Eriol-daioh?"

Nakuru beamed at him. "Don't ever, ever do it again," he recited in a sing-song tone. Tomoyo grinned at the faint irritation in Eriol's expression. _I hadn't known Eriol-kun_ could­_ get irritated._ Aloud, she offered, "Nakuru-chan? Why don't you take me down to the kitchen and tell me how to make this…smoothie of yours? That way I can learn how."

The look Eriol (and Spinel, when he stirred from his slumber momentarily) gave her was filled with adoration and gratitude. She simply smiled as Nakuru proceeded to bounce out the room as exuberantly as he'd entered, crying at the top of his lungs, "YAY! TOMO-CHAN'S THE BEST _EVER! _COME ON, TOMO-CHAN, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!"

While Nakuru's voice echoed down the hallway, Eriol said to Tomoyo, "You don't have to do this."

"Oh, no, I assure you it's quite all right," Tomoyo said, gently handing the once-again unconscious Spinel to Eriol. "I, after all, am a master at using blenders." At the doorway, she paused, and looked back with a grin. "Provided they are corporeal and not hypothetical." Eriol's soft, amused laughter followed her down the hallway.

Spinel opened his eyes momentarily; apparently, the shift in pillow-matter had awakened him after all. "You spoil her shamelessly," he accused his master.

"Which one?"

Spinel scoffed. "Seeing as only one of them _is _a 'her', I am fully aware that you know which one I'm talking about."

Eriol lifted an eyebrow as he idly stroked a hand down the magical cat's spine. "Do I spoil her?" he wondered aloud.

"Always giving in to her every whim. Much as you do that idiot, and oddly enough, Tomoyo-kun happens to be spoiling _him_ in exactly the same way you are spoiling them both."

"I do not give in to her every whim," denied Eriol, frowning. He didn't bother denying that he did indulge Ruby Moon a bit more than necessary.

His creation snorted derisively. "You backed down almost immediately when she insisted on calling that idiot by female pronouns, even though he is technically genderless."

"I did not _back down,_" Eriol protested. "Tomoyo-san and I simply agreed to disagree. She refers to Ruby Moon as female, while I—and you, for that matter—think of Ruby Moon as male. It is a matter of opinion, and neither she nor Ruby Moon seems to mind in the least. He at least responds to both sets of pronouns, whereas if I were to argue in the same vein that _you_ are genderless, and tried to label you a female in any way, you would refuse to speak to me for an entire month simply out of spite regardless ofthe gender by which I addressed you."

"The principle of the matter," Spinel said pragmatically, ignoring his master's triumphant look and not deigning to reply in the negative to the accusations, "is that you didn't even argue with her on the subject. You let her do as she pleases."

"That is simply ridiculous. As a matter of fact, arguing with Tomoyo-san is one of my favorite activities. She has an interesting outlook on many things that most people would never even consider."

Spinel looked nonplussed. "And of course you _only_ argue with her for her…outlook." He smirked as Eriol flushed faintly. "And not at all for any other sort of look."

"I do not approve of your implications, Spinel Sun," his master said severely. The overall effect was spoiled by the hint of red in his cheeks. The cat only shook his head and flicked his tail absently.

"I do apologize for my impudence, Eriol-sama," he remarked gravely. Though he could tell Eriol wasn't buying it for a moment, the magician nodded once. There was silence between them for a few moments. It was broken by voices calling up the stairs.

"ERIOL-DAIOOOOOOOH!"

Eriol merely closed his eyes and did not bother answering.

"_ERIOL-DAIOOOOOH! HELLOOOOOO!"_

"I don't think he's going to answer you, Nakuru-chan…"

"Maybe he can't hear me."

"Nakuru-chan, I'm sure every deaf person in _Australia_ heard you." At Tomoyo's dry assurance, Eriol opened his eyes and grinned at nothing in particular. Spinel watched him with narrowed eyes as they heard Tomoyo continue thoughtfully, "Maybe he's not answering you because you're calling him 'Eriol-daioh' again."

There was a pause as Nakuru apparently contemplated this.

"Nah. He really likes it when I call him that," he explained earnestly. "It makes him feel important, so I pretend he is."

"Oh. I see." There was no mistaking the smile in Tomoyo's voice. "Of course. How very kind of you, Nakuru-chan."

"I know," replied Nakuru smugly. "But he tries to act like he's humble, and won't let me do it in front of other people. Maybe _you_ should try."

"All right," Tomoyo agreed easily. Her voice lifted, the dulcet tones echoing in the stairwell and hallway. "Eriol-kun?"

Eriol smiled before replying at once, "Yes, Tomoyo-san?"

Over Nakuru's furious interjections ("WHAT? HOW DARE HE IGNORE ME LIKE THAT? THAT'S SO MEAN, ERIOL-DAIOOOOH!"), Tomoyo laughed and called, "We seem to have run into a small problem."

"And what is that, may I ask?"

"You no longer _own_ a blender, apparently."

Eriol paused, then laughed. "That's right. I forgot. The last time Nakuru made his cursed smoothies, he ended up getting strawberries on the ceiling."

Tomoyo's laughter echoed off the walls. "How in the world did you do that, Nakuru-chan?" he heard her say to Nakuru incredulously.

Eriol shook his head. "It remains a mystery, Tomoyo-san—mostly because he refuses to admit it was his fault."

"It _wasn't,"_ Nakuru interjected primly.

"And after I discovered remnants of banana underneath the cabinets, I decided the simplest solution to the problem would be to dispose of the source of the problem at once."

"Unfortunately," added Spinel, loud enough for Tomoyo and Nakuru to hear, "in these troubled times such a thing is called homicide and is rather frowned upon in society. So he threw out the blender instead."

There was a period of silence while the others digested this statement. Then three things happened at once.

Eriol began to laugh.

Tomoyo began to laugh.

Nakuru began to shout.

"Spinel, did you just make a _joke?"_ Eriol said incredulously, while Nakuru yelled about 'unfair' and 'so mean' and 'gonna slip you sugar pills every day for a week, Suppi-chan'. Tomoyo, still chuckling, tried to calm down the irate Moon Guardian.

Spinel gave the feline equivalent of a shrug. Eriol shook his head and stood, cradling the cat in the crook of one arm. "We'd better see about alternative methods to making smoothies, hadn't we?" he murmured to his Sun Guardian.

"Only if I am _not_ sanctioned to be 'taste-tester' again," Spinel sniffed indignantly. Eriol grinned and proceeded downstairs. Suddenly, strawberry-kiwi-banana-cherry smoothies sounded incredibly appealing.

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Hello, loyal readers. And again, sorry for the long wait between updates. I'm sort of swamped with school work right now, and my mom's starting this new business selling accessories like jewelry and purses and shoes and…stuff. She has appointed _me_ her personal slave—I mean assistant. So I am the one boxing up the jewelry, labeling the prices, and selling samples at school. Sigh. My commission sucks, too. Oh well.

:The reference I made here was to Rurouni Kenshin, with Kenshin always calling Kaoru by the respectfully polite title 'Kaoru-dono'. The joke just seemed to fit. (shrug) If it doesn't, ah well.:

If you're wondering about the 'daioh' thing, it means 'king.' Basically, cute little Nakuru-chan is calling our favorite boy genius King Eriol. And he doesn't like it one little bit. It's supposed to be a transition from previous chapters, where she kept calling him 'Eriol-sama' so much that he got irritated and told her to stop calling him that, so, being Nakuru-chan, she switched to 'Eriol-daioh' without a hitch. Hee…I heart Nakuru.

I did receive your reviews, you lovely, lovely people. Thanks go out to all of you. I am going to honestly try to do review responses. Um. Next chapter. Heh. That is, if I GET reviews. (shrug) So see you there, everyone!


	6. Interlude: Movie Night

Heaven's Gates

Disclaimer: Same as Chapter One

Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY. LIFE SUCKS AND SCHOOL IS BAD. DON'T EAT SHELLFISH. BRUSH YOUR TEETH AFTER _EVERY_ MEAL. USE NON-TOXIC MARKERS. AND IN CASE OF EMERGENCY (AKA, PHOENIX _EVER_ ABANDONING THIS STORY FOR SO LONG EVER AGAIN), BREAK GLASS AND USE AXE LIBERALLY.

Again, apologies for the loooong delay. But…I'm back now. This chapter's a bit shorter than the others. This is because it is an interlude. Not really integral to the plot, but filled with waffy, fluffy stuff, plus some Nakuru- and Spinel-shaped humor. Anyone who's seen _Labyrinth…_YOU know what I'm talking about.

Interlude: Movie Night

Nakuru leaned over Tomoyo's shoulder and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Tomo-chan?" she said after a moment.

Tomoyo hid a smile and didn't take her eyes off the television. "Yes, Nakuru-chan?"

There was a moment's pause, during which Tomoyo could practically _hear_ Nakuru debating how to ask her question. Finally, the moon guardian exhaled slowly.

"What is _that_?"

The smile didn't quite stay hidden as Tomoyo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and answered blandly, "_Labyrinth._"

"_Labyrinth_?"

Tomoyo turned to grin at Nakuru's consternation. "It's a movie, Nakuru-chan."

The guardian rolled her eyes. "Well, _duh._ Of course I knew that, Tomoyo-chan. What I mean is, what is that disgustingly ugly creature—_there?_" She pointed at the screen.

Obligingly, Tomoyo turned her face and studied the characters. The 'creature' of Nakuru's obvious repulsion was a short, squat man with wrinkled, grubby features and a long nose. He was also, quite obviously, not human.

"That," Tomoyo said after watching the screen, "is Hoggle."

"Who?"

"Hoggle. He is a gnome," explained Tomoyo with a smile. "And, or so he pretends, not a very nice one, either. But really, he's very sweet and has a heart of gold."

"He should, to make up for that face." Nakuru wrinkled her nose, then plopped down on the couch beside Tomoyo and leaned her head against the woman's shoulder. "What's this movie about?"

"A man who risks his pride and reputation and puts everything on the line to please the woman he loves." Eriol's voice made them turn around. He was leaning against the doorway with a smile.

Tomoyo nodded her head in greeting. "Is that so, Eriol-kun? I had a rather different idea about the movie's plot."

"Did you?" Eriol wandered into the room, and, to Tomoyo's surprise, sank down onto the floor beside her feet. "What is your idea, Tomoyo-san?"

Her lips curved. "I rather think that the movie is about a young girl who doesn't realize how fortunate she is, and the journey she undertakes to discover just that."

Eriol thought for a moment. "Agreed, somewhat. I would say that Sarah does not, as you say, realize her fortune—in having Jareth at her side."

"Jareth? He does nothing but plague her throughout the movie!" Tomoyo scoffed.

"Ah, but according to whose expectations?"

She grimaced—an expression Eriol found all too adorable on her. "I assume you mean that asinine excuse he gives her at the end of the movie?"

"Asinine? My dear Tomoyo-san, it is completely rational, when you consider Sarah's actions and behavior towards Jareth and his entire kingdom."

"Would you both please settle down so I can watch my movie?" Nakuru grumbled. "Or are you _trying_ to spoil the ending for me?"

"_Your _movie?" Tomoyo and Eriol echoed in unison, sparing each other an amused glance.

"Hush," commanded the moon guardian, her eyes on the television. "You're being too loud. I can't hear properly."

"Somewhere, a vast majority of hell just froze over," commented Spinel as he floated into the room, making a beeline for Tomoyo's lap and settling himself comfortably. "I never expected to hear those words coming out of _your_ mouth, Ruby Moon."

"That means you too, Suppi-chan." Nakuru flicked him an irritated glance. "Shut up."

"Nakuru, don't be rude," chided Tomoyo gently.

"…please," Nakuru added grudgingly, making Tomoyo roll her eyes, Spinel sigh, and Eriol laugh. "What are they doing?" she asked, scooting closer to Tomoyo so that she could lean on her more comfortably.

"Walking through a hallway in which various large stone pillars seem to be warning them to go back," Spinel said dryly. Nakuru swatted his nose. With a sound of outrage, Spinel moved from Tomoyo's lap to her knees.

"I can still reach you," Nakuru told him. Spinel glowered at her, then conceded the point and instead jumped down onto Eriol's lap.

"Play nice, you two," Eriol said absently. "Goodness, it's been quite a while since I've seen this movie. Where did you find it, Tomoyo-san?"

"Under the bookshelves in the library, in the cabinet where you keep your movies."

Eriol blinked. "Cabinet?"

"_I_ put them there," Spinel interrupted. "Because Nakuru—of all the unexpected things—rarely ever ventures into the library. It was the only way I could escape from his self-proclaimed 'movie marathons.'" He turned a baleful eye on his counterpart. "I vowed to myself that he would never force me to watch fourteen straight hours of Disney ever again."

"Isn't this a Disney movie?" mused Eriol. Spinel sent him a long, slow look.

"It is not," he said testily. "It is a Jim Henson production."

"Jim Henson?" Nakuru flicked her attention toward Spinel for a moment. "Like, the Muppets? And Sesame Street?"

Tomoyo giggled. "Why am I not surprised that you watch American television, Nakuru-chan?"

Nakuru snorted indelicately. "Those Americans have some funny ideas about entertainment, let me tell you, Tomo-chan. I mean, a talking frog? A genetically-mutated elephant who's friends with a gigantic yellow bird? That's _funny?"_

"And educational," supplied Eriol. Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure, Eriol-daioh—_sama,"_ she corrected herself hastily at his bland look.

"Oh, like that's much better," the magician muttered.

"Pick your battles, Eriol-kun," suggested Tomoyo, lifting a hand to stroke Nakuru's hair. With a sigh of contentment, Nakuru snuggled against Tomoyo's shoulder.

Eriol hid his amusement—and the swell of tenderness in his heart—at the picture the two of them made. _Like a child and her mother,_ he thought, before hurriedly shaking the thought away. This was not the time for such thoughts. "The lesser of two evils, I suppose," he agreed casually. "As usual, your wisdom enlightens me, Tomoyo-san."

"Really, Eriol-kun," Tomoyo mock-scolded, "shouldn't you already know that by now?" She shook her head as if in exasperation. "You should listen to me more often."

"Your daily doses of sage advice are the light of my life," Eriol assured her.

At the tone in his voice—the slight inflection that only his own creations would have been able to detect—Nakuru's eyes snapped open and narrowed on her master. Spinel tensed slightly on Eriol's lap. Absently, Eriol lifted a hand to rub it along the cat's spine. Nakuru's gaze connected with Spinel's.

_How many uh-ohs is that?_

_Seven, I believe. That would be 'septuple uh-oh.' Or something to that effect._

Nakuru snickered in amusement. Spinel rolled his eyes at the entire affair and settled himself under Eriol's soothing hand. Nakuru turned her attention back to the television—and let out a small shriek.

"_What _is _that_?"

Tomoyo sighed as the old man with the talking bird-hat wandered across the screen. "Maybe the movie would make more sense if we watched it from the beginning."

Eriol frowned. "Are you sure you don't mind starting it over, Tomoyo-san?"

"It's perfectly all right," she assured him, picking up the VCR remote with her free hand, as the other was still playing with Nakuru's long hair. "I really don't mind at all. This _is_ one of my favorite movies, after all."

"It is?" Eriol looked highly doubtful. "But it's quite old—1986, wasn't it, when it came out? And the acting, especially young Miss Connelly's, is terrible. Not to mention the special effects are atrocious and the puppetry is quite mediocre."

"I know." Her grin was dazzling and amused. "I love it." She restarted the video and settled against Nakuru with a smile. The moon guardian beamed, too, at the prospect of seeing the whole movie with her entire family.

That thought gave her pause. _My family?_ She peeked out of the corner of her eye up at Tomoyo, who was absently stroking Nakuru's hair, eyes focused on the television. Spinel, curled up on Eriol's lap, was watching the screen through half-lidded eyes, though the regular flicking of his tail bespoke his interest in the movie. Eriol was slouched against the couch, his head falling back against the seat cushion next to Tomoyo's knee. He looked as though he were dangerously close to leaning to the side so that his temple rested against Tomoyo's leg, but didn't quite dare make such a forward move.

Nakuru felt a small, genuinely happy smile curve her mouth. _My family,_ she thought again, with not an insignificant amount of wonder. _Mine, forever and ever._ She let out a sigh and let her attention focus on the movie.

For nearly twenty minutes, as the opening credits and first scene flashed across the screen, not a word was spoken. Except for occasional comments from Nakuru, and even less frequent replies from Spinel or Eriol.

"That is one very large dog, don't you think, Suppi-chan?"

"Hush, idiot."

"What an obnoxious baby."

"Ruby Moon, shh."

"Ewww, gross, what are _those_ things?"

"Goblins, of course, you moron, don't you pay attention?"

"Shut up, Suppi."

"Both of you, stop."

"Yes, Eriol-dai…sama."

Perhaps the most infamous commentary occurred when David Bowie, playing the role of Jareth, the Goblin King, made his first appearance. Nakuru's jaw dropped, and she whistled.

"Damn, he's cute."

"Nakuru-chan."

"Sorry, Tomo-chan. But he is very, very cute, don't you agree?"

"Yes, I think so."

Eriol turned to scowl up at them. "He's also old and fat now, you realize?" he pointed out. "And his hair looks awful like that."

"I think it's nice," Tomoyo countered vaguely.

The magician snorted. "And what's wrong with his eyes? They don't match at all." Nakuru waved a hand at him until he turned around, scowl still in place, and tried her best not to laugh at her master's poor attempt to mask his jealousy.

Then all hell broke loose as the camera got a full-body shot of Jareth the Goblin King in his skintight white suit.

Nakuru uttered incomprehensible sounds. Spinel sputtered indignantly. Eriol made a vaguely disgusted noise. Tomoyo only sighed and shook her head at their reactions.

"_What—is he—wearing?"_ Nakuru choked.

"I would think that what he's _not_ wearing would be more the issue," Eriol said reasonably.

"It's a bodysuit." Tomoyo fought the urge to giggle. "A very, very tight-fitting bodysuit."

"Obviously!" Nakuru goggled at the…rather well defined proportions of David Bowie's body. The cloth hugged him like a second skin and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. "Boy, would I have loved to be Jennifer Connelly for the filming of this movie, even if I needed my eyebrows waxed and couldn't act for peanuts."

There was a mutter from the direction of the floor. Nakuru stifled a smile and didn't say anything else. Spinel glared at the television the entire time David Bowie was onscreen, and Nakuru thought he heard him mumble, "Indecent and lewd…" What was more, Eriol patted the cat's head supportively. Nakuru caught Tomoyo's eye, and the two had to look away from one another before they laughed outright at the pair seated on the ground.

"You'd think the very least he could do would be to wear a codpiece," Spinel grumbled, causing Nakuru to break into a fit of giggles.

"Suppi-chan, who says 'codpiece' anymore?" she teased. "It's called a _cup_—"

"Regardless," Tomoyo broke in smoothly, as Eriol shut his eyes in mortification at the turn the conversation had taken, "let us continue to watch the movie, yes?"

This was agreeable to all, and as Jareth made his bargain with Sarah, there was contented silence. Until Nakuru opened her mouth again.

"I don't think a codpiece is what he needs," she mused aloud. "What he needs is a _whale_piece."

For perhaps a second and a half, utter, shocked, stunned silence weighed heavily in the air. Then Eriol turned to Ruby Moon with a half-horrified, half-surprised look on his face. Spinel buried his face in his paws, eyes closed mournfully.

And Tomoyo collapsed upon the couch, helpless with laughter.


End file.
